Range of cardiovascular medications dispensing practice without a prescription: A cross-section study on pharmacists at community pharmacies in Libya

Proper administration of medication for individuals with cardiovascular diseases requires critical actions. However, the irrational use of cardiovascular medications has increased. This study was designed to evaluate the range of pharmacists’ commitment in the City of Derna, East Libya, to dispensing cardiovascular medications without a prescription. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at pharmacies in Derna City in December 2024. Standardized self-reported questionnaires assessed the self-reported practices on the cross-section component.70 pharmacists from 52 pharmacies that were contacted took part in the survey with equal gender distribution and mean age of 26-35 years. In general, the present self-reported survey revealed that most of the respondents identified cardiovascular medicines class (81.4%), the majority of the participants did not dispense cardiovascular medications by any means (67.1%) and nearly 71.4% of the participants need a prescription to obtain these medications. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors were often prescribed cardiovascular medicines at pharmacies, according to the respondents (28.6%). Besides, 51.6% of the participants advised visiting a physician and more than half of the responses encouraged routine checkups (50.8%). Cardiovascular medications are rarely dispensed without a prescription. The majority of the pharmacies approached did not readily provide cardiovascular medications. These outcomes may be the result of regional and municipal regulations as well as careful oversight and management by regulatory agencies.